Damping vibration and noise through the structure of materials has broad application across numerous fields. A patent owned by the present Applicant, U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,692, discloses a material with spatially-varying stiffness (SVS). The SVS material was developed to improve vibration damping and reduction of noise. The SVS material has been incorporated into various items, including the sports racket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,432, also owned by the present Applicant. The Applicant has experimented with the SVS material, endeavoring to further improve its damping qualities and other pertinent characteristics.